Club Fates
by Larien Surion
Summary: In another world, Hoshido and Nohr are clubs competing in their mother's war for their unknowingly shared father's affection. A sad romance tries to bloom in the shadows. But while Kamui works for Nohr and Azura for Hoshido, will the two lovers find peace? Or is there only obstacles in the way of 'brotherly' love? Full warnings and explanations inside.
1. Nohr 1

**PLOT WARNING:** This is an alternate world. Nohr and Hoshido are competing clubs that have no idea the ties that actually hold them together.

To add to the shit-cake I'm throwing our favorite Fire Emblem Fates characters into, Mikoto and Arete are both with 'Father', and are the only ones to know their children are being pitted against each other. In this case, each one is the birth-mother of their respective collection of children.

To make the story a bit more interesting, there are two of the 'Avatar'. The male is Kamui, while the female is Corrin. (Japanese and English names)

 **OTHER WARNINGS:** This story contains anger, family issues, a Romeo-Juliet romance, incest, and abuse. Also may have some pregnancy in there. It's rated M for a reason.

 **Club Fates**

 **Nohr 1**

The ambience was hard, hot, and heavy. Just the way people liked it at Club Nohr. Kamui was doing the DJ, and all the patrons were either up dancing or sitting and drinking.

Xander looked out over the club. He liked it when it was busy, it made his dear mother proud to see them doing well. He was especially pleased with Kamui, the kid they'd managed to swipe from Club Hoshido down the street.

"Ugh." Camilla came up beside Xander, pulling the edges of her waitress dress down unsuccessfully. "Another one of those drunks slaps my ass, I'm going to give him a new asshole."

"We have to deal with it, Camilla." said Elise. She tugged her dress down as well. "Mother said these were the uniforms."

"Mother never comes here." Camilla countered. "Where's Leo?"

Xander pointed over to the office. "He's finishing up the accounting."

"Lucky boy." Camilla groaned.

"LAST CALL!" Kamui shouted out, letting the patrons know the bar would be closing in half an hour. He started a slightly less-bouncy, but nonetheless rythmic, song.

"He's good." said Xander.

"Yeah. His tallents would be waisted at Club Hoshido." added Elise.

"I have to go. Customer calling." Camilla sighed.

Leo stepped out of the office about fifteen minutes later. "So?"

"He's starting to tone the ambiance down to chase the stragglers out." Xander replied. He noticed something out the corner of his eye. "Shit." He headed down to the club floor, grabbing a particularly unassuming patron by the shoulder and turning them around. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.

Brown eyes looked up into Xander's own brown, and the face looked a bit sad. "You don't come around anymore." the patron said.

"I don't because your mother chased me off with a flamethrower." Xander replied.

The patron blinked at him. "I didn't know we had one of those."

"You're brother's going to kill you if he finds out you're here." Xander continued.

"Just a little longer."

"I can't. My mother's supposed to be by the club, and if she spots you, it's both our heads."

"Fine." The patron glanced around before placing a light kiss on Xander's cheek and then vanishing.

"Alright, bar's closed!" Xander shouted. "Out, you bums!"

The rest of the bar cleared out, and the siblings started their routine clean-up. Camilla sighed as she wiped down the last table.

"There." she said. "Now to actually dress comfortably."

"Well, well, well."

"Mother." said Leo, making a polite bow. "What brings you here?"

"This little one." Arete smiled, tilting Kamui's face up to look at her. "I don't remember birthing this one. Where did you get him?"

"We procured him from Club Hoshido down the street." Xander replied. "His talents were being wasted there."

"And?" Arete asked. "Do you enjoy being here, among my children?"

Kamui just studied Arete's face.

"He doesn't talk much." Elise said. "He only talks when he's the DJ."

"Interesting." Arete let Kamui's face go. "Well, you all seem to be doing well here. But . . ." She held up an envelope. "I just got the numbers in. Do you know which club is in top spot right now?"

The five workers swallowed.

Arete handed the envelope to Xander. "Open it."

The blonde did as ordered and opened the envelope, pulling out the sheet inside. He sighed, never a good thing to hear.

"It's Hoshido again, isn't it?" Elise asked, pouting.

"It's us." Xander replied. "But just barely."

"Exactly." Arete frowned. "Club Nohr is only in the lead by a mere $4000. You need to do better."

"Yes, mother." said Camilla and Elise.

As the siblings made their way to the back of the club where they lived and slept, Arete grabbed Xander's arm.

"Yes, mother?"

"I noticed one of those nasty Hoshidan's was in here." she said. "Why was that?"

"Probably trying to spy on us. I dealt with it in a business-like fashion."

"And the kiss?" Arete asked.

Xander wondered again how his mother knew so much. "It was simply a challenge." he assured her. "A subtle kiss is much easier than a direct threat, especially when surrounded by the customers."

Arete smirked. "Good boy." she said, letting Xander go. "Oh, and where's my other daughter?"

Xander looked back. "If you want Azura, you'll have to go to Hoshido for her." he said before disappearing into the back room.


	2. Hoshido 1

**Hoshido 1**

The place was calmer, more soothing and relaxing. A light scent of lavender and jasmine filled the air from well-placed scent cones around the room. A few patrons played a quiet game of pool, while others drank their beer or bubble tea and listened as the club's songstress wove a soothing melody that seemed to wash the days stresses away.

Hinoka slipped between two patrons and delivered another round of tea to the group playing pool. "How's it going, gentlemen?" she asked.

"Never better." said the first man, a tall fellow wearing a blue suit that went well with his hair. The name-tag on the front noted he was from Yillese Company. In fact, all eight of them were from the company. "Thanks for having such a calming atmosphere."

"It's a lot better than Nohr." said another man, this one wearing a more grey-blue suit, his brown hair brushed back.

"Thank you for the compliment." Hinoka smiled before heading back towards the bar.

Behind the counter, Ryoma finished cleaning a glass. He checked the clock, then made a hand-signal to the songstress. It was almost time to wrap things up.

The girl singing nodded. She was a pretty thing, with long blue hair. Tonight she was dressed in a white dress with a tasteful slit down the side that showed her long, slender left leg. She gave her hips a light swing and started singing her classic 'end of day' song.

Behind her, Corrin set the music. Like her twin brother, Corrin was a synthesizer genius. But while she preferred the calm and soothing aspects of the digital music world, Kamui had preferred the harder, edgier side, and had left to work at Club Nohr, their rival club.

Sakura came from the back office and helped gather the beer bottles and empty glasses. As she brought a load over, she noticed something. "Ryoma."

"Hmm?" He looked back. "Yes, Sakura?"

"He's gone again." She started washing the load of glasses, smiling when Hinoka brought the last batch in.

"Takumi?" Hinoka asked. "Yeah. He left about fifteen minutes ago. Said he needed some fresh air before Mom got here."

The girl singing finished up her song. "Thank you all, and have a safe trip home!"

Fairly soon, the club had cleared out, and they were just finishing putting the glasses away when the front door rang.

"Sorry, but we're . . . Oh, Mom. Sorry." said Ryoma.

"It's alright." Mikoto smiled. She visually counted the children in the club. "Where's Takumi?"

"Behind you." The pale-haired son slipped past, wearing a brown cloak.

"You smell like Nohr." Mikoto said flatly, stopping Takumi in his tracks. "Where were you?"

"Checking the competition." Takumi replied. "I left a challenge with them."

"I know." Mikoto said. "I saw you."

"If you saw, why did you ask?" Takumi returned. "Or do you like the smell of other people's dirty laundry?"

"Takumi." Ryoma warned.

The younger brother hung his cloak up just inside the back room, this time keeping quiet.

"So, Mom, what brings you?" Hinoka asked.

"I got the numbers." she said with a sigh, handing Ryoma an envelope.

Ryoma opened the envelope and removed the page. He sighed. "Club Nohr is ahead of us." he said.

Hinoka took a look. "By $4000? It's not much of a lead, but if they catch wind of this, they'll do something to double that." She glanced around. "Now where did Takumi go?"

"He's in the back." said the songstress as she walked over. "Nice to meet you, Mikoto. I'm Azura."

"I don't remember having a pretty thing like you for a child." Mikoto said. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was recruited from Club Nohr." Azura replied. "About the same time Kamui went over to Nohr, I came here."

"Hmm." Mikoto winced when she heard something fall in the back room.

"Just what are you doing back there, Takumi?" Hinoka asked.

"What do you know." The pale-haired youth came back out. "There is one back there." He took a peek at the letter Ryoma was holding. "Oh, that's not good."

"What were you doing back there?" Hinoka asked.

"Just checking for something." Takumi replied.

"What?" Mikoto asked.

"It was brought to my attention that someone was chased from here with a flamethrower." Takumi said. "I wanted to see if there really was one here."

"Yeah." said Hinoka. "I use it every year for the patio barbecue, remember?"

"Obviously not." Mikoto said. "Who told you this?"

Takumi did his best not to fidget. "A patron of Club Nohr." he said. "Are we done? Some of us do have classes in the morning."

"Good night." Mikoto smiled to her children as they headed into the back room to the living area of the club. She stepped outside and waited for the limousine to pull up. As she climbed in, a voice crooned, "Well? How are they doing?"

"Very well, sister." she smiled, looking up at the only other passenger in the car: Arete. "They're working hard."

"Good." Arete sighed. "I caught Xander associating with your second-youngest."

"So, that was who Takumi was talking to." Mikoto sighed. "He had the gall to tell my son I chased him off Hoshido property with the flamethrower."

"The same one used for the patio barbecue?"

"One and the same." Mikoto sighed. "It wasn't on, I just kinda swung it at him."

"I know, dear sister. You would never actually harm any of my dear children, just like I'd never actually harm any of yours."

Mikoto smiled at her. "Yes. After all, they are _his_ children."


	3. Nohr 2

**Nohr 2**

Xander let out an exhausted sigh. Ever since they'd received the news that Club Nohr was actually doing better than Club Hoshido, they'd been working even harder to make Club Nohr even better. Technically, it should have been easier said than done, but there was a clever catch.

Spring Break. Because Leo attended a college, he was able to spread the news that Club Nohr would open earlier over Spring Break, even though there would still be no alcohol served until noon. Since Kamui also attended the school, in the digital area, he was able to work his synthetic magic, and the club rocked.

Quite literally, at one point, which was why Xander was where he was at the moment. Under the club's main floor, fixing the hole that had happened when someone had decided to bodysurf the romping crowd.

With a huff and a sigh, Xander finished fixing the underside of the floor and headed up to the main area. Spring Break would be over as of tomorrow, but that meant probably the biggest party of all coming into the club today. Getting on his hands and knees, Xander started fixing up the upper part of the broken floor.

Over at the bar portion, Camilla and Elise were finishing re-stocking the cooler with Pelagia Prime Beer and the snack bowls with Beoric Peanuts. Kamui was re-adjusting the tension cable that held one of the clubs twenty speakers, all acoustically correct. Leo was trying to get the last of the ice from the huge ice-maker at the back into the huge ice bin at the front.

"Almost opening time." said Leo as he dumped the last bucket of ice into the bin. He sighed. "I'll be glad when this goes back to normal hours."

"Same here." said Elise. "I don't think I can handle another pinch to my butt."

"Or a hand on my tits." Camilla added.

Kamui just calmly bobbed his head to whatever music he was listening to on his headset as he finished the adjustment. The boy stood out, no matter where he was. Part of it was due to the fact that he was originally from Club Hoshido, and wore white, while the rest of Club Nohr wore black. The other thing was a bit more physical, and it was his eyes. Bright, vibrant red like a pair of rubies, they entranced most of the girls that came into the club. He also hardly ever spoke, if at all. The others had noticed that his 'Last Call' message was synthesized, and he never actually spoke to any of them. His usual forms of communication were either through his synthesizer and a keyboard, or through hand gestures.

"Hey, Kamui." snapped Xander, tapping on the boy's shoulder.

Kamui looked over at him, nodded, and got off the ladder. It was opening time, and he needed to set the morning ambiance.

A needy, heavy beat started just as the lock came off the front door. Within minutes, there were about thirty people in the bar, getting their dance on.

"He's in his element here, isn't he?"

Xander turned. "When did you get in?"

"Just now."

"What are you wearing?"

"They won't notice me like this."

Xander looked over the outfit. Black tank under a vest, black loose pants with loops and buckles, and black boots. There were also fingerless gloves, and that lovely hair was loose. Black eyeliner and lipstick completed the look, with a black extension streaking through the section of hair that went over the face. "Definitely different."

"So, this is why you haven't answered the texts?"

"Actually, my Mother took our phones and gave us new ones. She's watching."

"So's my mother." The youth beside him sighed. "It's why your name is Xenia on my phone."

"Hmm." Xander raised an eyebrow. So, he was lying about their odd relationship. "I have to re-enter your number."

"I changed it, since I figured something may have happened after you didn't answer the third text, so I stopped messaging."

"So, name?"

"Tami." The figure handed Xander a card. "I should head back. I need to wash and change before I actually go home."

"I'll message you." Xander said.

"Thanks." The figure left.

"Who was that?" asked Leo as he walked over, scooting past an enthralled patron.

"Girlfriend." Xander replied.

"You? With a girl?" Leo asked. He looked around, then pulled Xander into the men's washroom. "Dude, I can tell when you're lying, ok? Especially since we both know your gay."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Alright, it's my boyfriend." he admitted.

"Why didn't he stay?"

"He can't. His family's watching him, just like ours is watching us."

Leo blinked at him. "Is he . . . Nah. No one from Club Hoshido would dress like that."

"Yeah." Xander mumbled, thinking back to how he'd first met his little lover . . .

 _It had been back in college, when Xander had been learning bartending. Camilla had taken a business management course, and Leo was just starting the same course Camilla was finishing._

 _A group of students were going to the cafeteria, and one of them had shoved this slender little thing into the wall, making him drop all his books and notes. Xander had come over and helped him pick the items up, offering to help carry them._

 _The face that had greeted him had been that of soon-to-be rival club worker Takumi, of Club Hoshido. He'd been grateful for the help, and over the rest of the academic year, had gotten to know each other, and had gotten closer. Yes, bedroom, under the covers and horizontal mambo close._

 _Takumi had always worn more traditional Japanese-style clothes, but there had been times, just for Xander, when he'd dress differently so they could be seen together. Everyone knew him with his hair tied back in a ponytail, so during those moments, his hair had always been loose. It was those moments, when the world didn't see them as Xander and Takumi, that they had been truly happy._

 _But the happiness ended abruptly with Xander and Ryoma's graduation. Their mothers had each told them they were opening clubs, and that the whole family was going to help run it. Takumi had come to him to tell him the news, only to be chased away by a spiteful Arete. Xander had tried to come and tell Takumi about his mother's plans, but Mikoto had literally chased him away with an un-lit flamethrower._

 _And so time together had dwindled to a mere trickle of coded text messages and secret meetings away from the clubs whenever they could get the time._

. . . Xander?" Leo waved his hand in front of his brother's face.

"Hmm?"

"You spaced out." Leo stated. "We'd better get back out on the work floor. _Before_ someone breaks it again."

"Yeah, yeah." It was going to be another long day.


	4. Hoshido 2

**Hoshido 2**

"Where were you?"

Gyah!" Takumi nearly jumped out of his skin. "Hinoka, don't do that."

"I'll ask again, where were you?"

"Out. Geez, do you need to know every aspect of my life?"

"When you come back with that in your hair, yeah."

Takumi reached up, immediately noticing the extension he'd forgotten to take out of his hair. "What? Mom won't let me dye it, so this is the next best thing."

"She won't let you dye it because it's weird." Hinoka returned.

"No, I may actually look like I'm not some affair brat." Takumi snapped back. "Face it, I look like I don't belong."

"Takumi." Hinoka said, following him back to the back room. "What makes you say that?"

"Ryoma has Mom's brown hair, and so do Kamui and Corrin. You and Sakura have the bright red our maternal grandmother had before she went grey. Me? I'm silver, through and through. Everyone thinks either Mom slept around to get me, or she adopted me from Dad's whore that popped me from her crotch. In any case, no-one thinks I'm completely your sibling." Takumi pulled the tie from his hair, removed the colored extension, and tied his hair back up.

"Is something wrong?" Ryoma asked as he stepped closer to Hinoka.

"He's question things again." Hinoka replied. "I caught him with a colored extension in his hair."

"What color?"

"Black."

"Takumi."

"Shut it!" came the snapped reply. They could tell he was suffering again. Their brother had a massive inferiority complex that was just accented by the fact that he alone had been born with silver hair. He had medication to try and stabilize his mood, but he often ignored them in favor of actually being able to function and think. He hated the medications because he felt sluggish, stupid, and often couldn't hold his balance on them.

Ryoma sighed and stepped into the shared room he and his younger brother had. There was a third bed, unoccupied, that had once belonged to Kamui before he'd run off to work for Club Nohr.

Takumi was lying on his bed, looking at his cell phone. "Go away." he said softly.

"I'm not leaving." Ryoma said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

Takumi turned the screen off before Ryoma could see the image he'd been looking at. "What do you want?" he asked.

"It's almost opening time." Ryoma said. "Come on, it's the last day of Spring Break."

"Yeah, I know. Mother's going to be here tonight to tell us how good or bad we did. What's it matter, anyway?"

"Club Nohr is our club's rival." Ryoma said. "It's just the way things are."

"And yet they do things so different from us." Takumi said, sitting up.

"No they don't." Ryoma said.

"Have you been there?" Takumi asked. "Have you seen how they do things?"

"No, and I don't care to." Ryoma replied. "What I care about is you, and my family."

"Yeah, well, there's a member of our family working there, remember? Kamui works there."

"Kamui abandoned us, and Club Hoshido." Hinoka said from the door. "It's a good thing Corrin stayed."

"Kamui left because you wouldn't let him do what he does best. Club Nohr lets him do that." Takumi pointed out. "And Azura came here because we let her do what she does best."

"Azura came because we're the better club." Hinoka returned. "Now come on, club's opening."

Takumi sighed. "Coming."

Ryoma paused, noticing the black streak of hair sitting on Takumi's vanity. It wasn't the only one, there was a strip of brown and a red one there as well. Being the eldest, Ryoma had no real idea how Takumi was feeling being the one with the odd-colored hair. But he knew that there was something bothering his brother. He wanted to fix it, make Takumi feel better, but how? They had always treated him like family, so why was he always questioning himself?

It was something Ryoma was going to have to think on.


	5. Hoshido 3

**Hoshido 3**

Takumi stood behind the counter most of the day, just cleaning the glasses and pouring the beer and ale that was a regular drink. Hinoka was the one that made a served the bubble tea, the coffee, and regular tea. He didn't smile, though, until it got closer to closing time.

Azura was dressed in black tonight, with a slit up the right side this time. She stepped up to the mike, holding it like it was her lover or something. Behind her, Corrin set the music. Yup, the closing song. It was Azura's favorite piece, 'Lost in Thoughts All Alone'.

As the patrons filtered out at the end of the song, Mikoto came into the bar.

"We're closed." Takumi said flatly.

"Hello to you too, Takumi." she said.

"You're early, Mother." smiled Hinoka.

"Is he alright?" Mikoto asked.

Takumi put the cloth away under the counter, then checked his phone. A small smile crept over his face.

"A message from your girlfriend?" Mikoto asked.

Takumi snickered. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He held up the phone. It wasn't the one his mother had given him.

"Where did you get that?" Mikoto asked.

"I bought it." Takumi replied. "I already feel like a reject, I don't need to feel like I'm not trusted as well."

"I heard about your hair this morning."

Takumi spun around. "Who said anything?"

Hinoka looked guilty.

Takumi sighed and leaned on the door to the back room of the bar section, looking down at his phone again. The message was from Xander, asking how his day had been. Takumi quickly typed that his mother was there, then pocketed the phone.

"Not going to wait for her to message back?" Hinoka asked.

"Not with mother here." Takumi replied.

"Why's that?" Mikoto asked. "Why are you being so cold again? Have you been neglecting your medication again?"

Takumi pulled his silver hair over his shoulder. "You rule every aspect of our lives." he said. "Ryoma had to take book-keeping and management classes. Hinoka and Sakura had to learn barkeeping. Corrin and Kamui are the only ones who didn't have to learn something to do with a bar."

"They have natural talent with music and machines." Ryoma countered.

"And what about the rest of us?" Takumi asked. "You wonder why Kamui left here? He couldn't do what he wanted."

"He was told to use gentle ambience." Hinoka returned. "All he ever did was listen to his headset."

"Yeah." Takumi said. "And the harder rhythms he felt at home with. Corrin's the one with the 'gentle' music. That's why Kamui went over to Club Nohr. They let him play the harder stuff."

"You sound like you've been there." said Mikoto.

"To see how Kamui was doing." Takumi replied. "He looks happy there, by the way."

Mikoto checked her phone. "Well, you all have more work to do."

"Let me guess. That was an update on how Spring Break went?" Takumi asked. He was frowning again.

"Yes. Club Hoshido has lost." She showed Ryoma the numbers on her phone. "Both in money and popularity."

"This isn't good." Ryoma sighed. He winced as the back door to the rooms slammed shut. "And he's pissed."

"Mom." said Hinoka. "Takumi is our brother, right?"

"Of course he his. I birthed him." Mikoto replied.

"No, I mean . . . where does he get the silver hair?" Hinoka asked. "It was bothering him again today, that the rest of us have explainable hair colors, but his is silver, through and through."

Mikoto sighed. "Your father." she replied. "Your father was blonde, but his paternal grandmother was always silver. All of you took after me and my side, except Takumi. He was the one of you to have your father's mother's hair."

Lying in his room, Takumi finished writing out his text to Xander. A message beeped back moments later.

 _Sounds terrible. Wish I could be there to make you feel better._

 _I wish you could be here, too. I miss you._

 _Miss you, too. Regular hours start again, tomorrow, at long last. I don't think I could keep up with this if it happened day after day._

 _Yeah. I hate the way our Mothers keep making us work more and more. What's the point? Club Hoshido is a calm, quiet atmosphere geared more to the working class after a busy day at the office. Club Nohr is more for the energetic youth and weekend crowd in need of a place to just let it all out and dance. I have yet to see anyone dance here._

 _That would be interesting to see._

 _Never going to happen at Club Hoshido._

 _Yeah, and there will never be anyone not dancing at Club Nohr._

 _Mom's going to come make me take my stupid pills. Night._

 _Night, my silver angel._

Takumi tucked the phone in a secret pocket on his pillow just before Ryoma and Mikoto came into the room.

"Thought so." Mikoto said. "Takumi, this is last months prescription. When was the last time you took these?"

"Last time you shoved them down my throat." Takumi replied. "I don't need them."

Mikoto sighed. "Yes, you do. These outbursts are not good for you." She took a dose of the pills out of the bottle. "Ryoma."

Takumi struggled as Ryoma sat behind him and pinned his arms down. "No!" he shouted. He clenched his mouth shut as Mikoto tried to pry his jaw open. It took her and Hinoka to get his mouth open enough to get the pills in his mouth and water down him to make him swallow.

The struggles stopped fifteen minutes later, and he just lay there, eyes distant and seemingly hollow.

"Make sure he actually takes these." Mikoto said. "I really don't want to have to send him back to the hospital again."

"Yes, Mother." said Ryoma. He watched his mother leave, then turned back to look at Takumi, who'd fallen asleep. "This is going to get difficult."


	6. Nohr 3

**Nohr 3**

Kamui looked up from his workspace. That woman, Arete, was back. She was talking, but never really talked to him. He knew why. He was originally from Club Hoshido. It didn't matter to him. What mattered was the family that had accepted him and his ability to use the music as he found comfortable. The high-energy, thumping tunes that were piped through Nohr were his creations, his passion, his talent, and the legacy he would leave behind.

"Boy."

He looked at Arete. She was addressing him. Reaching over to the keyboard, a synthetic voice replied "Yes?"

"You still won't talk? What's wrong with you?"

"I can talk. I do so with my music. Now, what do you want?"

"Let me hear your actual voice."

He shook his head.

"Mom, just leave him alone." said Leo. "He does what he does well, ok?"

"I'm still curious." Arete said. "What does he sound like?"

Kamui shifted a few of the synthesizer bars and hit a few keystrokes. All at once, there was music playing again. His red eyes followed Arete's every move as she looked around.

"The sound's off." she said flatly.

Kamui shifted a few of the bars again, and the music warbled and shifted around the room. He was playing with the speaker volumes, something he had a masterful control of to make it sound like the music was alive. With a flurry of handiwork, he made the music circle the room before coming to stop to play from the four speakers behind him. His synthetic voice spoke out. "This is my sound. Sound is my domain."

"Interesting child." Arete looked back, only to spot Xander texting on his phone. "Something important, Xander?"

"Just a wishing a fried good night."

"A friend?" Elise asked. "Who?"

"Tami." Xander replied. "They were here earlier today, before heading to work."

"Your friend works?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Xander replied.

"So, what's he like?" Camilla asked.

Xander sighed. "He's nice. Good, caring. Apparently has mood issues, but I've never seen it."

"Mood issues?" Arete frowned. "Tell me. Would this person be about Leo's height, with long silver hair tied in a ponytail, with brown eyes?"

"No ponytail. Streaked hair." Xander replied. "Wears darker colors and makeup."

"Hmm." Arete smiled thinly. She turned to look at the rest of her children. "Well, we've beaten Club Hoshido during one of the busiest weeks available before summer. Congratulations." With that, she left the club and got into the limousine that pulled up.

"You ok, Xander?" Elise asked.

"Kamui." he said.

The boy walked over and tilted his head.

"I need you to do me a favor."

Arete looked over at Mikoto. "I think something's happened."

"What?"

"Xander mentioned a friend who stopped by Club Nohr today. With streaked silver hair, dressed in dark clothes."

Mikoto wrung her fingers. "Takumi has clip-in hair extensions on his vanity. He's also been neglecting his mood stabilizers."

"Hmm. Xander mentioned his friend supposedly has a mood issue." Arete looked at her sister. "I think Takumi's been coming over to my club."

"We can't have that. They must stay our individual pieces." Mikoto said. "He'd be angry if they got mixed together."

"I know." Arete put a hand on her sister's knee. "We have to make sure our children are safe."

"Yes. Safe."

Xander rolled over and looked at the clock. It was early morning. Sitting up, he pulled his phone off his dresser and powered it on. There was a message for him from 'Tami'.

 _Dragons breathe ice. Maternal fridge with scissors. Musical number 5._

Xander scratched his head, then shook Kamui awake, showing him the message. Kamui took his mp3 player and set it to song number 5, handing the headphones to Xander before dropping back to sleep.

Azura's song flooded through the headset, but it was only part of it. The section known as 'Conquest'. Xander understood what Takumi had been warning about. There was a chance their mother's may have caught on to the relationship, or at least Takumi's frequent trips out of Club Hoshido.

As he was making breakfast, Camilla came over. "Hey."

"Hey, Xander." she smiled. "Oh, there was someone at the door for you."

"Who?"

"Our traitor of a sister."

"Is she still there?"

"No, I sent her away." Camilla said. "Of course she's still there."

Xander turned the stove off and moved his bacon onto his sandwich. "Thanks." He headed to the back door, where Azura was waiting. "What's up?"

"Xander. I was just wondering how you were doing."

"Not that bad. We do miss you around here. Everyone believes you turned traitor, except me. It's too loud and bouncy here for you. You're a calm, collected person. Club Hoshido's better for you. Just like Club Nohr is better for Kamui."

Azura nodded. "About that."

"What?"

"Takumi's not allowed to come here anymore."

Xander blinked at her. "How'd they know he was coming here?"

"He said he was, to check on Kamui. We've been told not to let him leave. I just wanted you to know that if he does show up here, to call us. Ryoma'll come and get him back. This is a rival club. If any of us were caught coming here, especially through the front door, it would look bad for either club."

Xander nodded. "Tahnks, I'll keep it in mind. You'd better get back."

Azura nodded. "Bye." She headed out into the rain, back to Club Hoshido.

"So, what did she want?" Camilla asked as Xander came back and collected a cup of coffee.

"Apparently there's been a Hoshidan sneaking into the club to check on Kamui. We're to keep an eye out for him or her and get them to retrieve their lost property if it turns up again."

Camilla sipped her coffee. "Well, that will depend on you, Xander. After all, Mom may be the owner, but you're the manager."

"True." Xander replied. He sipped his coffee. "True."


	7. Hoshido 4

**Hoshido 4**

"I'm not a child." Takumi argued. "I can go to the mall alone."

"Not with what Mom found out." said Hinoka. "Besides, I need to do some shopping, too."

"Great." Takumi grumbled. "So I get dragged to all the damned girly stores and can't go where I want."

"You could have asked Ryoma to come." Sakura suggested.

Takumi gave them an icy glare. "Not after he pinned me."

"You're supposed to be taking those meds, you know." Corrin interjected.

Takumi frowned, but said nothing. It was the stubborn, obstinate way his family treated those of Club Nohr that made him this moody. Why couldn't they see that the two clubs were totally different?

As they headed through the mall, Takumi was proven right. Clothing shops, makeup stores, and even the lingerie shop. He had enough at that point and had just stormed off, leaving his three sisters and Azura in the store.

"Well, this is a surprise."

Takumi looked over. It was Leo, Xander's younger brother, and also one of Takumi's classmates. "Hey."

"Xander's a bit upset."

"How so?"

"Seems his friend hasn't been by the club lately." Leo glanced over at him. "He misses you."

"What makes you think it was me?"

"Kamui's a technical genius. When my mother was over, he not only managed to manipulate the music to make it seem alive in the room, but he hacker he phone."

Takumi raised an eyebrow.

"Here. I haven't heard it, but Xander said to give it to you. Since we're not at work, this is just an exchange between class mates, alright?"

Takumi took the memory stick. "Why are you doing this?"

"Xander's my older brother. I hate seeing him depressed. If you sneaking into the club for a few minutes is what it takes to make him happy, I'll see it done."

"Thanks, Leo."

"There you are." Hinoka stormed over. "What are you doing here?"

Takumi sighed. "We're not at work." he reminded her. "In case you forgot. Leo and I attend the same classes. He was just giving me the notes for the class I missed because Mom decided I needed to see the quack."

"Yeah, those are on the key I gave you." Leo said. "Well, before your sister blows a gasket, I'd better go. See ya in class." Leo walked away, subtly whispering a prayer that Xander's plan would work.

"Why were you talking to him?" Hinoka growled.

"Like I said, we share the same class set. He's the only one who'll talk to me, so I asked him to get me the class notes. Normally I would have picked them up tomorrow, but he just happened to be here today." Takumi sighed, his hand closing tightly over the memory stick.

"Well, we're done, so it's time to go home." Corrin said.

"And I haven't had a chance to go get or do what I needed to do." Takumi snapped back. "Now it's your turn to be dragged around." With that, he headed to the nearby electronics store.

"Ugh, electronics?" Hinoka complained.

Uh-huh." Takumi replied. "There we are."

"That a microphone." said Sakura. "Why do you need it?"

"I don't." Takumi replied as he paid for the item. "But the one Azura's using at the club is starting to make a weird warble every so often. A replacement is going to be needed." He left the store and headed to another store, this one filled with video games.

"Why here?" Corrin asked.

"Pickup for Hoshido." said Takumi, ignoring his sisters.

"Yeah, two games, right?"

Takumi nodded, showing his membership card.

"Ok, here you go." The man at the counter smiled. "Oh, Takumi."

"Yeah, Laslow?"

"You going to be on Saturday?"

"Wouldn't miss it." the silver-haired youth replied. "Chrom's going to be on, too."

"Sweet! I'll see if I can get Effie and Kaze on."

"Great. See you then." Takumi walked back out.

"What were you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"A game." Takumi replied.

"Speaking of, what sort of crap did you pick up?" Hinoka asked.

"Hey, the games Yillese makes are not crap." he returned. "This is the next part in the Fire Emblem series the company's been making."

"But, two games?" Azura asked.

"Yeah. The game has three stories, but the third version isn't out yet." Takumi replied. "As it is, I've got Birthright and Conquest so far."

"And what's the third one called?" Sakura asked, actually sounding interested.

"Revelation."

"That sounds so lame." said Corrin.

"I play it, you don't." he returned. "Moment." Takumi stepped into a music store and tapped someone on the shoulder.

The person turned and smiled at him, giving Takumi a warm hug.

"How you been?"

The person made a hand motion that meant 'so-so'.

"They treating you good?"

He nodded.

"Good. I worry about you. You're still my brother."

The other nodded again, making a more subtle hand-sign.

"Saturday."

He nodded, then motioned that the four girls were starting to get antsy.

"Take care of yourself." Takumi stepped out of the store.

"And what were you doing?" Corrin asked.

"Hey, you may hate him, but Kamui is still our brother." Takumi returned. "It's alright to check up on him outside of the club, isn't it? Or did Mother forbid me to do that, too?"

The girls were silent as Takumi finished his shopping, which basically involved getting some more school supplies before they headed back out to the car.

"so, how'd it go?" Ryoma asked, even as he finished the prep work for opening.

"Here's the new mic." Takumi replied.

Ryoma spotted the game bag. "What's that?" he asked.

"The new games from Ylisse." Takumi replied with a grin.

"Don't stay up too late playing." Ryoma called as Takumi vanished into the back. Because it was a school night for him, he was exempt from being out in the club.

"He was talking to Leo." Hinoka said as she tied on her apron.

"About what?"

"Apparently Leo's the only one to talk to him in class, and he was handing off class notes to Takumi. But I didn't see any."

"Leo said the notes were on a memory stick he gave Takumi." said Sakura. She finished tying her apron on. "We're ready."


	8. Nohr 4

**Nohr 4**

Leo sighed as he stepped into the bar. He was already late returning, he could tell by the heavy rythms pumping through the air.

"And where were you?"

He looked up. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"I asked a question first." she frowned.

"I had to pick up some school supplies." Leo returned, holding up the bag.

"You left school with Kamui, but he returned first." Arete said, still frowning down her nose at Leo. "Why didn't you come back with him?"

"Because I was still busy." Leo snapped back. "Now answer my question."

"I came here to watch you all work. Is that a problem?"

"It is when you're dressed like a fifty-cent hooker." Leo returned. He heard Xander try to hold back a snicker.

"Told you, Mom." the older brother said. He snorked again before going back to cleaning some of the glasses.

"Hmph." Arete glanced over at the stage, where Kamui was moving the sound sliders, making the music seem to swirl around the room. "He's good at that." she noted.

"Yeah. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to change." Leo slipped into the back room and stripped out of his school clothes, dressing in the dress-pants, short-sleeve shirt and bartenders vest that was the Nohr uniform. Stepping back out, he caught a patron's hand before he could try and slap Camilla's ass.

"Touch my sister, and I'll throw you out."

"I'd like to see you try." the man slurred.

"Xander!"

The older brother opened the door, smirking at the unfortunate patron as Leo dragged him to the door and literally over-the-shoulder tossed the man out.

"Told you I would." Leo said before the door was closed.

"Why'd you throw him out?" Arete demanded.

"Same reason I'm going to throw you out in a moment if you don't stop grabbing Xander's ass. He's your son, for fuck's sake."

Arete frowned. "I'm your mother."

"You could be the Queen of England for all I care. We don't tolerate sexual harassment." Leo returned. "Now either get your hand of Xander, or I'll you like I did the last guy."

When Arete didn't move her intrusive hand, Leo made good on his promise, and she found herself sitting on the sidewalk. "Hmph." she said, getting up. "Well I never." She pulled out her phone. "Jakob, I need you to pick me up now."

Moments later, the limo was there, and Arete got into the back.

"Got thrown out?" Mikoto asked.

"The nerve of that brat." Arete growled. "You?"

"I had to enforce Takumi's medication again." she sighed. "I don't understand that boy."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He keeps insisting that the two clubs are different, and don't need to compete." Mikoto replied. "He gets worse and worse every day."

"But they're the same." Arete said. "They need to compete. Otherwise, he won't love us."

"Yes. And we need his love."

Xander checked his phone again. Nothing from Takumi. He was getting worried. The clubs had closed, and aside from a garbled message the seemed to have been typed by a drunk, there had been nothing. "Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Did you get the key to him?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "He didn't look all that happy. Apparently his mother took him to a doctor about his mood thing."

Xander nodded.

Kamui came over and tapped Xander's arm, handing him a headset.

Xander didn't question it and put the headset on.

" . . . so moody, I'm afraid I'll have to take him back to the hospital for them to fix him."

"Do it, Mikoto. He needs to know he wrong."

Xander looked startled. Wasn't Mikoto the name of Takumi's mother?

"But what about the club?"

"They can function without him for a few days. After all, he's really only a spare for Ryoma."

Xander handed the headset back to Kamui.

"What's wrong, Xander?" Leo asked. "You look pale."

Xander looked at Leo. "Can you text me if Takumi's not in class tomorrow."

"Why wouldn't he be in class?"

"I think our mother knows someone we're not supposed to know about."


	9. Hishido 5

**Hoshido 5**

"Mom, you're early." said Ryoma. "What's up?"

"Where's Takumi?"

"In his room." came the reply. "He was still asleep last I saw him."

"He should be getting ready for class soon." Hinoka added.

"Can you get him and bring him to my car?" Mikoto asked.

"Why?" Ryoma asked.

"I made another appointment for him." she replied. "It's soon, and I'd rather he make it."

"Ok." Ryoma stepped into the room he shared with his brother.

Takumi was sitting up in bed, but looked like a zombie. His hair was tied in a haphazard mess, and he was still in his pajamas. He wasn't even that responsive when Ryoma picked him up, just held tightly to the cell phone that had been in his hold.

"Should I come with you?" Ryoma asked.

"No, it's alright. If he's still like this when we get there, Saizo can move him."

"Alright. Take care." Ryoma watched as his mother's car left.

"What was that all about?" Corrin asked.

"Mother made another appointment for Takumi, probably about his mood medicine again." Ryoma replied.

"You know, I'm actually starting to worry about that." said Hinoka. "I mean, he dropped unconscious only a few minutes after we got the last dose down his throat. And he looked like the waking dead when you carried him to Mom's car."

"I know." Ryoma said, sitting down at the small kitchen to drink his tea. "But we have to trust that Mom's got his best interests in mind." He ran his hand through his spiked hair. "Huh?"

Something was lying on the floor. Ryoma picked it up, immediately recognizing the sticker on the one side. "What's a Nohr memory stick doing here?"

"Huh? Oh, that's the one Leo gave him yesterday, with the school notes on it." Sakura replied. "He said as much when we were at the mall."

"hmm." Ryoma plugged the stick into his computer. Sure enough, the class notes for the three classes Takumi had missed the day before appeared. But as Ryoma moved the cursor to the corner to close the files, a folder that hadn't been there before popped up. There was only one person Ryoma knew of that could hide a file on a memory stick.

"Kamui's had his fingers on this." he said, clicking on the file.

A single sound folder appeared. When Ryoma clicked on it, strange garbled gibberish played.

"That sounded weird." said Corrin.

"It's a sound file." Ryoma replied. "Hidden on the stick."

"Hidden?" Corrin asked. "Only Kamui does that kinda weird stuff."

"I know. It means there was more to Leo meeting Takumi at the mall yesterday." Ryoma said. "The question is how to get this thing to play actual sound."

"Well, what media did you play it as?" Corrin asked. "Kamui did have a tendency to use different medias to make his hidden shit."

"I played it through the default music player."

"Hmm." Corrin looked at the file. "Here it is, in the properties."

"What?" Ryoma asked.

"You don't have any of Kamui's self-made player on your computer, do you?"

"Only the old ones." Ryoma replied. "Why?"

"Hmm. Eject the stick. Bet says Takumi's got one of the new ones on his computer."

Ryoma did as asked. But when they opened Takumi's laptop, there was a password request.

"Password?" Hinoka mussed. "Let's try the club."

Error.

"Ok, let's try each of our names." suggested Sakura.

Four error messages later, and they were no closer.

"Ok, the name of his classes." tried Ryoma.

Another error message.

"Birthday?" suggested Azura.

Error.

"First day the club opened." said Sakura.

Error.

"Classmates?" Hinoka tried.

"Who were they?" Ryoma asked.

"I don't know. He's pretty much a loner." Hinoka replied. "In fact, he said Leo was the only one who talks to him."

"We'll try that, then." said Ryoma.

Error.

"Mom?" Corrin suggested.

Error.

"What could it possibly be?" said Azura.

"This is getting frustrating." added Hinoka. "Why would he password his computer, anyway?"

"I don't know." Ryoma replied. "I mean, the rest of us don't."

"Yeah, and I have a whole desktop computer to create music on." Corrin added. "Wait. We could try my computer."

"Do you have the player needed?" Hinoka asked.

"Oh, shoot. No, I don't." Corrin sighed. "This is getting frustrating."

"I know." Ryoma said. "Is there anyone who might know the password?"

There was a chirp from near the doorway. Takumi's cell phone was lying on the counter.

Hinoka picked it up. "I think I may have our answer." she said with a smile.

"Why? What?" Corrin asked.

"Takumi just got a text from someone name Xenia." she replied. "His girlfriend may know the password. All we need to do is get her to come here."

There was silence a moment.

"He has a girlfriend?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm." Ryoma held his hand out. "Let me see that."

"Ok." Hinoka handed him the phone.

There was silence a moment. "I thought so."

"Thought what?" Azura asked.

"I know this number." Ryoma said. "It's not a girl."

"It's not?" Hinoka asked.

"It's Xander."


	10. Hoshido 6

**Hoshido 6**

By the time Takumi was even aware of his surroundings, he was already being taken out of the car. His body was still sluggish, and he could hardly hear anything. All he knew was that he'd dropped his phone somewhere and he was being carried.

"Yes, I made an appointment for Takumi Hoshido."

Takumi tried to move, but Saizo held him tightly in place.

"It'll be easier on you if you just hold still." the red-haired man said.

Takumi tried to talk, but nothing came out. His tongue felt like lead. With an exhausted sigh, he leaned his head back on Saizo's shoulder.

The world moved again, and then Takumi felt himself get lain down. The ceiling was a yellowed color, and a shade of such he remembered. His mother had brought him to the hospital. But there was nothing he could do, as thick straps were secured over his arms and chest, then again at his waist, and finally over two places on his legs. They were obviously not going to take any chances with a patient that had a track-record of biting the doctors.

"He seems pretty tranquil." said the nurse.

"I know, but he can get vicious." said Mikoto. "I don't care what it takes, make him better."

"Yes, ma'am."

Takumi just lay there. He knew what was going to happen. They were going to try electro-shock therapy, more drugs, needles that made him feel like there was fire in his veins. He closed his eyes as the doctor came into the room.

"So, he's back?"

"Yes, sir. His mother said he's getting worse."

Takumi felt the bed move. Where were they going to take him, now?

The answer came as probes were stuck to his head. Shock therapy, to try and cure his mood swings. He gritted his teeth as they tried to pry his mouth open to fit the bite guard. There was no way he was going to let them do this to him.

"He's clenched his jaw pretty tight." said the nurse.

The doctor came close, and Takumi snapped, catching the other's hand in his teeth, and biting hard. "Let me out." he snarled.

"Awake, eh? Well, we can cure that."

Takumi thrashed under the restraints. As he shook his head, he managed to shake a few of the probes off. But it was in vain. Someone stuck his arm with a needle, and in minutes, he was feeling sluggish again.

"Have to hand it to your mother, giving you tranquilizers with your medicine to get you here." said the doctor. "She must really be concerned about you."

The bite guard was fit into his mouth, and the probes reattached to his head. It still didn't stop his screams of pain and fear over the next hour as he was repeatedly shocked. When they finally stopped, he was whimpering in pain.

The nurse returned him to his room, leaving him restrained.

Why? Why was he being made to suffer like this?

Takumi cried. He was alone, afraid. He knew they were going to torture him into saying what they wanted, believing what they wanted. His whole body shook, both from the tears and the fear of what they were going to do to him.

Ryoma showed up at Club Nohr well before opening time.

"What do you want?" Leo asked as he rounded the corner.

"Where's Xander?"

"Inside." Leo frowned. "What do you need him for?"

"It's concerning this." Ryoma held up Takumi's cell, showing the message Xander had sent. He spotted the recognition in Leo's eyes. "You knew about this?"

"I knew about the new phone." Leo said. "Not about that." He led Ryoma to the back living area. "Xander, there's a Hoshidan here for you."

Xander appeared, frowning at Ryoma. "Why are you here?"

"You sent my brother a text, under the pretext of being a girl."

"So?" Xander asked. "What's it to you?"

"There was a hidden file on a memory stick your brother gave mine."

"How would you know about that?"

"Takumi dropped the stick this morning when I carried him out to my Mom's car." Ryoma replied. "Also his phone."

"And you decided to snoop." Xander stated. "No wonder he thinks you guys are jerks."

Ryoma looked a bit offended. "At any rate, the hidden file contained a music file created by Kamui. It won't play unless we can get into Takumi's laptop."

"And you think I know the password." Xander concluded.

"How'd you know it was passworded?"

"I have ways." Xander replied. "And the answer is yes, I know the password. I'm the only other person in the world who does. The only one your precious little brother trusted."

"Why would he trust you?" Ryoma asked.

"Why did Kamui and Azura switch clubs to work at?" Xander countered. "I let it happen, Ryoma. Azura couldn't work here, even if I hadn't let her go. She can't DJ worth spit, and the crowds here prefer the loud stuff Kamui creates. I let her go to you guys because Takumi said it was a calmer place."

Ryoma looked confused. "I was under the impression Nohr and Hoshido were exactly the same."

"You were wrong." Xander replied. "Now, where is Takumi?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why don't you?"


	11. Nohr 5

**Nohr 5**

"What do you mean?" Ryoma asked.

"Exactly what I said." Xander returned. "You don't seem to care that Takumi's been dragged off somewhere."

"Mother said he had an appointment."

"With who?"

"Probably the psychiatrist again."

Xander shook his head. "He doesn't need the mood medication." he said.

"What do you know?" Ryoma asked. "You're just a Nohrian."

Xander looked at Ryoma. "Where's this psychiatrist?"

"Why should I tell you?"

A knife suddenly found it's way to Ryoma's throat. A synthetic voice said "Tell him. Takumi means a lot to me."

"Kamui, what are you doing?" Xander asked.

The synthetic voice replied "Ryoma's being dumb. I'm making him tell you."

"Fine." Ryoma sighed. "Most likely he's at the mental hospital. It's where his doctor is." He felt to knife back away, and he was slightly ashamed at being scared of a butter knife. "Now tell me why you care about what's going on with . . . Don't ignore me!" He followed Xander out to the beat up station wagon.

"Why are you following me?" Xander asked.

"Why do care about Takumi? Mom said he needs help."

"Ever think your mother might be using you?" Xander asked as he started the car.

Ryoma sat in the passenger seat. "Why would she do that? She my Mom, she cares about us."

Xander flicked something on a sound system in his car as he drove.

 _" . . . so moody, I'm afraid I'll have to take him back to the hospital for them to fix him."_

 _"Do it, Mikoto. He needs to know he wrong."_

 _"But what about the club?"_

 _"They can function without him for a few days. After all, he's really only a spare for Ryoma."_

"That was my Mom's voice." Ryoma said.

"And my mother." Xander added.

"But, how?"

"Kamui's pretty intuitive." Xander replied. "He bugged my mother's phone. This is a recording of something he heard. He shared it with me."

"But why would our mothers be together? Aren't we rival clubs? I mean, we're not even supposed to interact with each other. I'm gonna get in shit for this."

"So am I." Xander said, parking his car. "Especially if they've hurt him."

Ryoma followed. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Xander came up to the counter. "I'm here for Takumi Hoshido."

"He's not receiving visitors right now." said the nurse.

"I'm here to get him."

"He hasn't finished his treatments."

Xander clenched and unclenched his hands several times, causing Ryoma to back up. "Where is Takumi Hoshido?"

The nurse finally looked up, suddenly intimidated. "Up the stairs and to the left. Red wing. You can't miss him."

"Thank you." Xander headed off, Ryoma following.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ryoma asked.

Xander stopped in the doorway of the room. "Takumi." He stepped in quietly, brushing the silvery hair from the other's face. "What did they do to you?"

Burn marks marred Takumi's forehead and hair line, and tears stained his pale face. It was obvious he'd cried himself into exhaustion, but he still woke when Xander gently cupped his cheek.

"Xander?" Takumi whispered. His voice was barely audible.

"I'm here. So's you're older brother."

Takumi blinked a bit and looked towards the door, spotting Ryoma. "Ryoma?" He tried to move, but the straps held him down firmly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'd like to know that myself." Ryoma replied. "What are you doing, Xander?"

"Getting him out of this death-trap."

"He's here for help." Ryoma countered. "Why are you undoing him?"

"Does this look like help?" Xander asked, showing the bruise from when the doctor had shoved the tranquilizer into Takumi's arm. "Or this?" He indicated to the burns across the youth's forehead. "He's not here for help, Ryoma. He's been put here to brainwash him." He picked Takumi up off the bed.

Almost instantly, Takumi clung to him. "Don't let me go." he whispered.

"I won't. If Hoshido wants you back, they'll have to fight for you." With that, Xander pushed past Ryoma and headed down the hall.

Immediately, an alarm went off. "We have an escaped patient. Silver hair, wearing blue pajamas, being carried by a man with blonde hair in a white suit."

Several security guards got in the way as Xander got to the lobby. "Stop where you are!" one shouted.

Xander stopped at the front desk. "Checking out." he said. "And it's alright to tell his bitch mother that Xander Nohr was the one to take him from this place."

Ryoma followed. "Xander, this is madness!"

"It's madness to leave someone who doesn't have to be here in this shitty place!" he returned. He held Takumi tighter. "Now either clear the way, or I'll clear it!"

With no other choice, Ryoma sighed and signed the papers saying Takumi was leaving the facility. Once the papers were signed, the security guards had no choice but to let Xander leave with the patient.

"Now what?" Ryoma asked as they got back into Xander's car. He looked back to see Takumi had fallen asleep again.

"Well, the first thing is to toss you out at Club Hoshido. Then, Takumi comes home with me after I pick up his things."

"You plan on stealing another of my siblings?" Ryoma asked.

"It's not stealing so much as it's ransom." Xander replied. "When your mother and mine come clean about the shit they're trying to pull on both of us, you can have Takumi back. Not before then."

"What makes you think my Mom's up to anything?"

"Do I need to play that recording again?" Xander asked. "And by the way, it's time-stamped for last night. You're mother and mine planned on putting Takumi in there until he was the perfect model robot child."

"Why would she do that to him and not the rest of us, huh?" Ryoma asked.

"You already think the way she wants you to." Xander replied. He stopped at Club Hoshido. "Oh, speak of the devil. You're mother's home."

Ryoma stepped out of the car. "Don't think you can get away with this."

Xander looked at him. "Already did." he said, and drove away.

Takumi looked up as he was taken out of the car.

"Xander, why do you have a Hoshidan with you?" Camilla asked.

"I . . . liberated him." Xander replied. He set Takumi down in one of the kitchen chairs. "Hungry?"

Takumi nodded. "Thank you." he said softly.

"So, what do we do with him?" Camilla asked.

"He stays here." Xander replied. He set a mug of coffee in front of the Hoshidan. "And if mother says to be rid of him, I'll be the one to toss her out this time."

Elise looked back from the window. "You'd better be ready to make good on that."


	12. Nohr 6

**Nohr 6**

(Warning: Sex)

Xander frowned as his mother strutted into the living area. While it was true that she owned the club, she hadn't lived with them since Xander had turned sixteen and Camilla had been fifteen, forcing the two eldest to raise their siblings while she'd vanished, coming to visit once in a while. She was the one to tell them to fix up the club area in the front of the building and make it into a highly profitable establishment, but hadn't lifted a finger to help with any of it. This was her third visit this week, and it made Xander wary.

"What is that doing here?" she asked, pointing at Takumi.

"Drinking coffee." Xander replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my beloved children." she said, smiling.

Takumi looked her over from over the rim of the coffee cup. The woman was tall, slender, and well dressed, but there was something else. Something slightly familiar about her, he just couldn't figure out what.

"Well not all of us are here." said Camilla. Like Xander, she was wary of their mother's suddenly frequent visits. "And the club doesn't open for another few hours. So what is it you want?"

"Your numbers have been slipping." she said flatly. "Club Hoshido's doing better than you."

"Is that all?" Xander replied. "It's not our peak season, and you know it. Of course Hoshido's going to do better. While we cater to the young and restless, they're more of a calm aspect business people want to go to. The numbers will peak again Friday and Saturday, you know that."

Arete frowned at him. "Is that any way to talk to the woman who raised you?"

"Raised me? I had to raise myself. As soon as I was out of diapers, you couldn't give a shit about me until I was old enough to start making you money. Camilla and I had to raise Azura, Leo, and Elise. You did nothing except tell us what to do once we were old enough to serve alcohol."

From where he sat, Takumi watched the exchange with a knowing look. Ryoma had done most of the parenting on his side of the family, with Hinoka having to grow up quickly to try and be like a mother to the four younger siblings. If it hadn't been for Mikoto's visits to the club once a week (or so), he'd have had no idea who his mother even was.

"Now, if you don't mind, Miz Nohr, we have work to do. The door is that way." Xander finished. "Don't let it hit you where the good dragon split you."

"Anything I should do?" Takumi asked.

Xander looked over. "What did you do over at Club Hoshido?"

"Janitor duty, mostly."

"Bucket and cleaners are in the closet on the left inside the washroom." said Camilla. "Welcome to Club Nohr."

It was loud. There was shouting and dancing, and the smell of alcohol was fairly strong.

"Anything you wanted to do tonight?" Xander asked.

Takumi grabbed his hand. "How loud does it get in here?" he asked.

"Louder than this." Xander replied. "Why?"

Takumi grinned. "Good. They won't hear us, then."

Xander was about to ask what he meant when he noticed Takumi was pulling him to the back rooms where they lived. He could feel his pants getting several sizes too tight. It had been a long time since he'd been with his younger lover. "You going to be alright?" he asked.

Takumi smiled back at him. "I'll be fine." he said, pulling Xander down for a kiss.

Xander undid the buttons of Takumi's borrowed shirt, sliding the garment off the other's body and tossing it across the room. He smiled as his lover undid his own shirt and the white fabric followed it's predecessor to the opposite end of the room. The pants were left where they had been standing, and Xander sat Takumi on the edge of the bed. He smiled. The boy still wore the braided linen undergarments. Carefully, he untied the woven strands, palming the hot flesh that had been trapped underneath.

Takumi hissed at the touch. It didn't hurt, but after being neglected for so long, the reddened flesh was tender. He reached over and slid Xander's tight briefs off him, palming the other's hot member as well.

"I . . ." Takumi whimpered suddenly. To both his delight and dismay, Xander stopped caressing his cock, instead laying him back on the bed with his legs spread wide.

Xander leaned over Takumi, kissing him while he fumbled with the top drawer of his night stand to grab some lube. Squirting a generous amount on his fingers, he kept kissing Takumi while he reached down and pressed his middle finger into the other's tight ass.

Takumi hissed. Definitely been without this for too long. His ass was tight and the simple, lubricated intrusion stung a bit. But Xander continued to kiss him and caress his trembling body, waiting for him to relax before starting to wiggle the finger around inside him.

"More." Takumi whispered breathlessly. He wriggled his ass, trying to encourage Xander. It worked, and he felt a second well-lubed finger slide in. Again, there was a slight pain, but he was so enthralled in the kisses and caresses that he hardly noticed it. And besides, his hands were busy, too. Feeling over every curve and contour of Xander's chest, reacquainting himself with his lover's figure and features.

"Are you ready?" Xander asked after a while.

Takumi nodded, reaching around his legs to spread his ass as Xander pulled his fingers out. There was another squirt of lube, ad Xander coated his cock before starting to press into the other. A few tears found their way to the younger's cheeks, but he endured it as Xander slowly pressed into him until he was completely sheathed.

They remained that way for about a minute, waiting for Takumi's ass to adjust.

"Move." Takumi hissed out.

So Xander did, pulling back until only the crown of his cock was still inside, then thrusting back in to the hilt.

A cry of lust and surprise escaped Takumi, and he wrapped his arms around Xander's neck.

The sound of his lover's name escaped him, soon interspersed with gasps and moans as the thrusts became faster and faster. He was sure he left nail marks in the other's back as he suddenly came all over their fronts, and Xander emptied about six months of cum into Takumi's waiting ass.

It was a sudden crash from the endorphin high, and Takumi dropped gracelessly to the bed, panting and gasping. He felt Xander's softening cock depart his backside, and the mattress shift as his lover lay down beside him. Rather quickly, he drifted off to blissful, restful sleep.

Xander leaned up on his elbow and watched his little lover. How he wished he didn't have to hide things from his mother, wished he and Takumi could be free to see each other more often. Couldn't Club Nohr and Club Hoshido work together?

Getting up, Xander cleaned himself off and dressed again. It would be closing time soon.


	13. Hoshido 7

**Hoshido 7**

Hinoka frowned. "Where were you, Ryoma?"

"Out."

"I know that much." she returned. "But for almost the whole day? And then you throw Mom out the instant you get back? What happened to you?"

Ryoma ran his hand through his hair. His mind was a spinning mess. There was more the the reason Xander had removed Takumi from the medical facility than just getting him out, he knew that. The way his younger brother had clung to the blonde man had said as much. Then, there was that recording. Xander himself had said that the other voice had been his mother, but why? Why were their mother's together?

"The Club stays closed tonight." Ryoma finally said.

"What?" Sakura and Corrin asked.

"There's repairs that need to be done that we've been neglecting anyway, and I need to talk to you guys about something, anyway."

"Ok." said Hinoka. She put a sign up on the door saying 'Closed for repairs. Sorry'. "By the way, did you find out what was on that memory stick?"

"No, I didn't." Ryoma replied. "But that's just part of what I need to talk to you all about."

As they set to work patching paint that had chipped off the wall, replacing the singing microphone, and re-fluffing the plastic plants, Ryoma asked Azura a seemingly odd question.

"Azura, what's your mother's name?"

She paused to look at him. "Arete Nohr. Why would you ask?"

"Thank you." Ryoma went over to his computer and typed in a search. It had been something he'd never questioned before, but things Xander had said were bothering him. "This her?"

Azura looked over. "Yeah, that's my mother. I'm the only one to inherit her hair color. Camilla came out a mix, and everyone else apparently has our father's blonde."

Blonde. The paternal grandmother having been silver. Something his own mother had said referring to Takumi's seemingly odd hair-color.

"Why are you looking up her?" Hinoka asked.

Ryoma sighed. "Something Xander said."

"What did he say?" Corrin asked.

"That our mother's know each other, and had planned on removing Takumi from here to be brainwashed."

"He's a Nohrian." Hinoka said. "No offence, Azura, but he'd say anything to get under your skin."

Ryoma turned to his phone and showed them a few pictures he'd managed to take during the rescue attempt. "What do these look like?" he asked.

"Burn marks and bruises." Sakura replied. "Kinda fuzzy, though."

"I zoomed in." Ryoma double-tapped the screen, and the image zoomed out to show that those burns and bruises had been on their brother. Sliding to the next shot, it showed Takumi clining to Xander, as if the other was the only one who could save him.

"That looks weird." said Hinoka.

"He looks . . . happy." said Sakura. "Like he's been rescued."

"He was, kinda. Mom was probably here to ask me why I helped Xander steal Takumi away from there."

There was silence as the others stared at him. "You what?" Hinoka asked.

"Xander has a recording of our mothers saying to remove Takumi and 'fix' him. That he's only a spare part, anyway. They sounded like they've known each other for a while."

There was more silence as Ryoma checked over the profile for Arete Nohr. "Born Arete Valla, mother of five, owner of Club Nohr . . ." he mumbled. "Twin sister to Mikoto Hoshido." He paused. "What?!"

"But, that's Mom." Sakura whimpered.

"Now we know how they know each other." said Hinoka. "But that also means . . ."

"Xander and his siblings are our cousins."

"But, then why have both families create clubs?" Azura asked. "And then pit us against each other?"

"I'm not sure." Ryoma mused. "But I bet there's a collection of newfound cousins who might be able to answer that."


	14. Nohr 7 Hoshido 8

**Nohr 7/Hoshido 8**

"Xander." Leo called, knocking on his brother's bedroom door.

"Hmm?"

"I'm over here, Leo."

"Then who or what is in your bedroom?"

"That would be the stolen Hoshidan." said Camilla. "And Xander, you should come see this."

"See what?" He followed his sister to the kitchen. "When did you guys arrive?"

"A few minutes ago." Ryoma replied. He seemed to look past Xander for a moment.

"Those are definitely not his pajamas." noted Hinoka.

Takumi shuffled past, pulling the waist of Xander's pajamas up and retrieved a cup of coffee. As he sat down, he noticed the room was fuller than usual, and looked up. "Gya! Ryoma. What are you guys doing here?"

"Hi to you, too." said Ryoma with a smirk. "First of, here's you're laptop. Secondly, you dropped this. When I went to check the contents, we found a hidden sound file."

Kamui looked over as Ryoma mentioned that.

Takumi took the memory stick and flipped open his laptop. There was a lot of clicking, and then, the sound file played.

"It's music." said Corrin. "And a lot slower than Kamui usually plays."

"It's a recording." Takumi replied. His finger was tapping the side of the computer. "Ok, message gotten."

"There was a message?" Hinoka asked.

"Yeah." Takumi closed the laptop. He noticed Azura looked confused. "What?"

"That was a section from my song." she said. "Just without the words."

"Really?" Corrin asked. "Didn't sound like it to me."

"It was backwards." Takumi replied. "The 'Revelation' section."

Xander noticed the Hoshido collection was looking a bit flustered. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Takumi."

"Hmm? What, Hinoka?"

"Ryoma told us about yesterday. Why did you cling to Xander, rather than Ryoma?"

Takumi sighed. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and knew it was Xander's. Ryoma could see it in his eyes, before the words tumbled out of his mouth. "Be . . because I love him."

"Ooh. This is gonna be hard to take, then." said Corrin. She placed a set of pages on the table.

"You looked up my mother?" Leo asked, looking the pages over. "Wait a minute? Is this true?"

"As true as you can get off an internet profile." Ryoma replied. "We looked our Mom up, too, just to make sure."

Leo shifted through the pages, then looked over at Xander. "Yeah, you two especially are going to take this hard."

"What?" Takumi asked.

"They're our cousins."

Camilla sputtered on her coffee. "What?"

"Huh!?" asked Elise.

Kamui just rolled his eyes.

"Right here. Arete Nohr, born Arete Valla. Mother of five, owner of Club Nohr. Twin sister to Mikoto Hoshido." said Leo. "And here, on Mikoto's page. Born Mikoto Valla, Mother of six, owner of Club Hoshido. Twin sister to Arete Nohr."

"It gets worse." said Hinoka. "Down near the bottom."

"What?" Elise came over and looked. "Husband unknown. What makes that so weird? It says it for both of them."

"Exactly." said Hinoka. "They're pitting us against each other, even though we're cousins. What else are our mothers hiding from us?"

"Like what?" Takumi asked. At this point, he was no longer sitting facing them, but was leaning on Xander, who was petting his hair.

"Ryoma, Kamui, and Corrin all have Mom's dark hair. Hinoka and I inherited our red hair from our maternal grandmother. But Takumi alone has a color inherited from our father. A lighter color, like all of you." said Sakura. "Azura said herself that she inherited her mother's hair color, and Camilla came out a mix, most likely of Arete and her mother's hair color. But Elise, Loe, and Xander are blonde. The same color Mom said our father was."

Xander could feel Takumi's fingers gripping his shirt. "It's alright." he soothed.

Kamui sighed and flipped open his own computer. A synthesized voice said, "You're going to hate this, then."

"He's using a synthesizer now?" Corrin asked.

"What is it, Kamui?" Takumi asked.

The youth tapped a few keys, and a sound filled the room.

It was the sound of the inside of a car, specifically Arete's limo.

"Xander has you're little silver brat."

"I figured as much. Ryoma tossed me out of the club yesterday. And now, I've found out it wasn't even open last night."

Yes, I heard that, too." There was a clicking sound, like from a clutch purse. "Things are starting to get out of hand with them."

"He's not happy with me, is he?"

"He's not happy with either of us. We need to do something, and soon, or we'll both be cold at night."

"But, what can we do, Arete? I can't loose him, or my children."

"Neither can I." There was another sound, and then the car sounds stopped. "Well, I'd better check on them, make sure . . . Is that your son's car?"

Ryoma glanced outside. "Uh, this is happening now, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, that is Ryoma's car. But, what's he doing here?"

"We are so gonna get it." said Hinoka.

"You called that one." groaned Camilla.

There was the stereo sound of the car doors, and Kamui changed something on the computer, stopping the feed.

Arete stepped into the back rooms of the club. "What are they doing here?" she demanded.

"Something wrong, Mother?" Leo asked.

"They aren't supposed to be here, you know that, Leo." Arete snapped.

"Something wrong with family being over?" Camilla asked.

"What do you mean?"

Leo held up the sheets of paper. "Research, Mother dearest. You really thought I wouldn't be able to find you, one of the most powerful women in the city, on the internet? Or your sister?"

Arete's face paled. "You little . . !"

Leo pulled the pages back, out of her reach. "Ryoma, you let your mother in."

The oldest of the Hoshido children stepped out a moment, practically dragging his mother back inside with him. "We already know you've been pitting us against each other." he said. "Now what else are you hiding?"

"We're not hiding anything, Ryoma." said Mikoto.

"You hid the fact that the Nohr family were our cousins." Hinoka pointed out. "Now then. I'm going with Camilla to see if this club is like Club Hoshido or not." She turned and headed to the front with her counterpart cousin.

"This is not what I expected." Hinoka said.

"What were you expecting?" Camilla queried.

"Well, more mellow tones, for one. A bit more greenery. What are those?"

"Strobe lights." Camilla replied.

"And what's with all the speakers?"

"Kamui's greatest achievement. He literally makes the music seem alive in here."

"Alive? How?"

"He makes it seem to move as he changes the volumes on the speakers, like the music is swirling around the room." Camilla smiled. "There's no such thing as no-one dancing here."

"Dancing? No-one dances at Club Hoshido."

"Really?" Camilla asked.

"Yeah. They're usually sitting in the booths, talking and laughing. A few play pool, and there's an air-hockey table that gets used on occasion. The only ones really moving are me and Sakura, sometimes Ryoma or Takumi, to serve drinks. As for dancing, Azura does that a little on the stage where she sings, but that's it." Hinoka looked around. "The two really are completely different settings."

The two girls returned to see that Xander and Ryoma had convinced their mothers to at least sit and have some coffee.

"Well?" Sakura asked.

"Takumi was right." Hinoka said. "There is nothing the same aside from some of the drinks served."

"Well, then." said Xander. "There should be no reason to compete, seeing as there's a difference in almost everything."

"True that." said Ryoma. "So, Mom. Why are we being pitted against each other?"

Mikoto sighed. "Can I get an answer first?"

"About what?" Takumi asked. He had gotten changed into something Sakura had brought over in a backpack for him.

"Why did you and Xander take Takumi out of the hospital?"

"First of all, that was no hospital, that was a mental institution." said Xander. "And secondly, Takumi doesn't need any form of correction."

"Yes, he does." Mikoto returned. "Why does he question everything I say and do?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Takumi countered. "I'm the only one with silver hair. As Sakura pointed out, I look more like Xander, Leo, and Elise than I do Ryoma, Hinoka, or Sakura. I'm the only one with light-colored hair. Of course I'd question if I'm yours, or a kid you had to take in because Dad slept around. And here's another question I've had, since I could think about it: Where is Dad?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering that, too." said Leo. "You've always told us that our father loves us dearly, but we've never seen him. So, where is our father?"

Arete and Mikoto looked guilty. The blue-haired one sighed. "He's one and the same." she said sadly.

There was silence.

"What?" Takumi asked, being the first to gather himself.

"It's true." said Mikoto. "We both loved the same man. He gave us each beautiful children. But then, he turned cruel. He said if we would give his love and affection to the woman who's children made the most money."

"Hence, Club Nohr and Club Hoshido." said Leo, piecing everything together. "But, why the different last names? If you're both married to him . . ."

"We aren't." said Mikoto. "He gave us the names Nohr and Hoshido because we first met him during a filming."

"Filming? Of what?" asked Elise.

"A porno." Arete replied. "We were poor, and desperate. He needed two girls to act alongside him for a porn-movie, and we made the cut. But sex actresses can't use their real names. So we became Arete Nohr and Mikoto Hoshido. We were still actresses in the industry when we got pregnant with Xander and Ryoma, but he had us exclusively working with just him. It was sex on screen that got us pregnant with each of you, but only one of you was born in front of the camera."

"Which one of us got that embarrassment?" Hinoka asked.

"Takumi." Mikoto said softly.

Xander caught the silverette as he suddenly lost his strength. "Takumi? You ok?"

No answer. He looked pale and shaken.

"When we were pregnant with Elise and Sakura, he pulled us away from being in front of the screen, and instead had us do the voice acting for hentai videos." continued Arete. "But eventually, he found others to work, and we became house-pets. And then, he told us our children had to make money, or we'd be thrown out. His love for us would be bought by whichever one had more money made by her children."

"So, you've been pitting us against each other for the sake of being loved by our mutual nut-job of a father?" Xander and Ryoma asked.

The two women looked at each other. "Well, yes. He was . . . is, everything to us."

"But Mom." said Sakura. "We can't compete."

"Why not?" Arete asked.

"Club Nohr isn't the calm, serene place that Club Hoshido is." Elise replied. "And Club Hoshido isn't the wild and energetic place Club Nohr is. They're two very different clubs."

"But . . ."

"We have the Summer Kick-off Barbecue coming up." said Ryoma. "How about we show that we can work together on this. If Nohr and Hoishido can pull it off, as a group, will you stop trying to pit us against each other?"

"He'll get angry." said Mikoto.

"Bring him." said Leo. "Bastard fathered us. He should see what we can do in person."

"Besides, it'll be out in the open, so we won't know where he is." added Hinoka.


	15. Nohr 8 Hoshido 9

**Nohr 8/Hoshido 9**

The area was already getting crowded.

"You ever have a turn-out like this before?" Leo asked. He backed up as Hinoka fired up the flamethrower. "I didn't think Xander was serious when he said you guys had one of those!"

"Eh, it's mostly for show." Hinoka grinned. "Still . . ." She aimed the flames at the pigs set up on huge spits. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Leo's eyes got wide as she proceeded to use the flamethrower to cook the meat.

"She scare you?" Sakura asked.

"Just a little." Leo replied. "You seem nervous."

"This is honestly more than we usually get." she admitted. "This is also a bigger venue than we normally rent, too."

"Woo! Look, Xander! It's on fire!" squealed Elise.

"She's happy." smiled Camilla. "Kamui's set up the speaker system, so we're ready to roll."

"Great." Sakura headed off to the bar area, where Takumi was finishing serving another guest. It was obvious he was still trying to wrap his head around things. Not only had he been in a relationship with what turned out to be his cousin, but also his half-brother. It was something both he and Xander were trying to figure out how to proceed on. Still, he was putting a good face on for the guests. A newer addition was the strip of colored hair extension that adorned his ponytail.

"She's at it again this year?"

"Huh? Oh, hey, Mom." said Ryoma. "Well, she's good at it."

"Arete will be here with him sometime later tonight." Mikoto said. "Please, don't make a scene."

"Why would I? Hinoka seems to be doing a good job of that on her own." Ryoma replied. "Oh, Kamui's taking the stage."

"Now it's a party." said Xander, coming up beside them.

Kamui looked over at Corrin and grinned. He typed something into the synthesizer. "Ready to party?" came the artificial voice.

The crowd roared in affirmation.

A thrumming noise seemed to emanate from the stage, flowing out to encompass the crowd. And then, the music. Loud, hard, and it got the crowd moving. Dancing and jumping and cheering.

"Wow." Corrin muttered. She checked her cell as it vibrated in her pocket. "Huh?"

The message simply read: Make sure Azura is ready in two hours.

She typed back: Why? That's sunset.

An answer returned mere seconds later: Yeah. Loud music to go with dinner, and softer before the fireworks.

Corrin nodded and gave Kamui the thumbs up.

"You look flustered." said Leo, joining Takumi at the bar, where it was getting busy.

"Never had this many to serve." Takumi replied. "By the way, you did pretty good for a noob last Saturday."

"Actually, I've had practice." Leo returned. "Like the color."

"Thanks." Takumi gave a toss of his head, letting the colored strip flutter with the rest of his hair. "I feel a bit better, now."

"Why?"

"Mom stopped trying to enforce the medication, but asked me to keep a feelings diary. It's helped her understand some things, I guess."

"Here you are, sir." Leo said, handing a patron a beer. He looked back at Takumi, who was busy getting two more beers. It felt good to work with the Hoshido Family, rather than try to compete with his classmate.

Over by the now-roasted meat, Hinoka and Camilla were busy feeding the masses.

"This is so fun." Camilla smiled.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Hinoka grinned. "Here you are, ma'am."

"You have so much energy."

"Three cups of coffee." Hinoka replied.

"Three?" Camilla asked.

"Normally I've had six by now." She gave another person some of the roast meat. "This is calm."

Camilla looked her over. "Seriously?"

Hinoka laughed. "Got you. Nah, I'm pretty wired, tonight."

"Why would that be?"

"Probably because instead of trying to avoid you, I'm actually able to get to know you."

"You're an interesting girl, Hinoka."

"Thanks." She smiled at one of the guests. "Hey, Subaki."

"Wow. I never thought Nohr and Hoshido would host this together." He gave her a kiss. "It's pretty cool."

"Here's your pork." Hinoka grinned. She noticed Camilla staring. "What? He's my boyfriend."

"Uh-huh." Camilla said.

Ryoma stood next to Xander. "This seems to be going well." he said.

Xander pointed out into the crowd. "I think your mother's enjoying it."

"No way." Ryoma smiled. "She's dancing."

"You sound surprised."

"I've never seen her dance before." Someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Huh? Orochi, you made it."

"Who's this?" The girl standing there was a pretty thing, wearing a lab coat over a tank top and shorts. Her brown-grey hair was tied up in a unique style, and she blinked at Xander.

"This is Xander, the manager for Club Nohr." Ryoma replied. "Xander, this is my fiancé, Orochi. She's a researcher."

"Hey." Orochi held out her hand, giving Xander's a good, hard shake. "So, I'm gonna go get some food, then probably bounce around until I feel sick."

"Be careful." Ryoma chided gently before letting her go.

"Fiancé?" Xander asked. "Where'd you meet her?"

"Last year of college. We've been dating, and, well, I asked her about two months ago. Made me so happy when she said yes."

"What's she research?"

Ryoma sighed. "Would you believe me if I said alcohol?"

"At this point, I'll believe anything." Xander replied. He spotted his mother's blue hair in the crowd. With her was a man with platinum-blonde hair that was just starting to grey. Mikoto seemed happy to see the man, and fairly soon the trio were enjoying the party.

"Spot something?" Ryoma asked.

"Not really." Xander replied, but he nudged Ryoma's leg. It was their secret sign for the night. Daddy was in the area.

As the sun began to set, Kamui toned the music down some before motioning Azura to come up on the stage with Corrin. He made a few hand gestures, and the girls nodded. He'd continue with his magic using the speakers while the girls would set the evening mood.

Azura stepped up to the front, for the first time using a headset microphone. She took a deep breath as the music began to wash out over the crowd. She could hear it, swirling like waves around a river.

Everyone looked over. There was hardly anyone who didn't know of Azura's singing, or her signature song. But to hear it come alive like this was new. And so see Azura dance as she sang was something else entirely. She moved like fluid, made even more beautiful by the costume she was wearing as it sparkled and caught the setting sun.

"Wow." breathed Mikoto.

"She's so beautiful." Arete whispered beside her.

"It's amazing." said the man with them. "All three of them are so amazing."

As the song finished, the sun finished setting. A spray of fireworks went up from behind the stage, setting the sky ablaze with flashes of light and sparkles.

It was a while before the crowd had almost completely dispersed, and the two groups were able to take a moment to pause and breathe.

"Xander."

He turned, catching Takumi and holding him close. "Well, how'd it go?" he asked.

"It was quite busy for a while." Takumi replied. "But the thought of getting to spend time with you kept me going."

Xander smiled and gave him a light kiss. "Good. I was worried about you."

"You said nothing about this, Xander."

The two males turned, both going a bit red in the face when they saw their mothers standing there.

"So?" Mikoto asked. "When did this start?"

Takumi began to wring his hands, a sign he was getting nervous.

Xander put a hand on his shoulder. "About two years ago. He got pushed over, and I helped him gather his papers. That's how I met him. About three months later, we started dating."

Hinoka nearly choked on her beer. "You've been dating?" she asked.

"Why do you think I'd sneak out to Club Nohr?" Takumi asked. "It wasn't really to check on Kamui. It was to see Xander." He leaned on his partner slightly.

"Makes sense." said Mikoto.

"So, you're the collection of disobedient children my favorite girls have raised."

Everyone looked over as a man with platinum-blonde hair walked over. There were a few streaks of silver running through it, and his eyes were the brightest of blues.

"And you are?" Hinoka and Camilla asked.

"Your father."

"We gathered that much by how you greeted us." said Hinoka.

"No, we want a name." Camilla added.

"Anakos."

"Good to meet you." said Hinoka. "Can I ask a question?"

"What is it?" Anakos asked.

"Why weren't you there when we were growing up?" There were unshed tears in her eyes.

Anakos sighed. "I wanted to, but I was a well-known actor, both regular acting and porn. I'd seen what happened to other actor's children when their famous parent was around. I wanted you all be normal, or as normal as it could be. So I stayed back, and let your mothers raise you."

"Why pit us against each other, though?" Camilla asked.

"It wasn't so much to make you fight as it was to make you succeed. I wanted you all to be able to make your own living. I never meant for you to fight."

Xander shifted, catching Takumi as the other suddenly collapsed. "Takumi?"

"It's past midnight." said Ryoma. "He never could pull an all-nighter."

Xander picked him up, smiling as Takumi cuddled into his shoulder. "We'd better get him home, then."

"My place is closer." said Anakos. "You can all stay the night."


	16. NohrHoshido Finale

**Nohr/Hoshido Finale**

"This is going to take some adjusting to." said Leo. He looked up at the sign.

"We all have some adjusting to do." Sakura smiled.

"Still . . ." Elise looked over at Azura, "It's good for us to all be together, right?"

"As long as we can ignore them." said Hinoka. She thumbed Ryoma, who was kissing his wife.

"What?" Ryoma asked.

"You have something on your face." said Takumi.

"Where?" The older brother looked worried.

The six girls started laughing.

"What?" Ryoma asked, starting to panic.

"Here." Azura held up her compact mirror. "You may want to try a lip-stain next time, Orochi."

"Oops."

Ryoma sighed. "Could have been worse." he said, relieved it had only been his wife's lipstick.

"So, how's room arrangements?" Camilla asked. "This place looks bigger than either Club Nohr or Club Hoshido."

"It is." Leo replied. "Twice as big for the club, and a complete three-floor living area in the back."

"Club area's got a second floor, too." Sakura added. "With a balcony-stage."

"Cool." said Corrin. "So, how long until you have this place wired up?"

Kamui grinned at her and held up three fingers.

"Three days?"

"Hours." said Leo. "He'll have it wired and sounding perfect in three hours."

"Hey, Ryoma." said Takumi.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you and Orochi staying in here?"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to pick a room anywhere close to yours."

"Yeah, either the same floor, or below it." teased Hinoka.

"What?" Orochi asked.

"We went and spent the night over at Club Nohr when you two got married." said Takumi. "You were that loud."

"We probably weren't any better." said Xander, catching Takumi from behind and kissing him.

"No-one knocked on our door and told us to quiet down." Takumi countered.

"Please, don't." said Camilla. "I don't want to think about it."

"Probably the main floor." Ryoma replied. "You two can take the top."

"Ew and no." said Hinoka. "Camilla and I have top floor, same with the rest of the girls."

"Woo!" Corrin was gone, dragging her bags up the stairs with her.

"She's happy." smiled Elise. "Come on, Sakura. We'll use the elevator."

"So where are we supposed to stay?" Xander asked. Under his chin, Takumi made a pout.

"Second floor." Camilla replied. "There's extra rooms with Ryoma's for any additional Hoshidans later on."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"We didn't forget you." Camilla smiled. "Second floor as well. Don't worry, brother. These rooms are soundproof." She looked at Takumi and Xander.

"Ok, we'll keep it down." they both said, frowning at her.

"But, what are the rooms on the first floor for?" Takumi asked.

"Sorry we're late."

"Mom?"

"Mother?"

"Hey." Mikoto smiled. "I know I wasn't much good at raising you guys, but I'd like to at least be able to be here to help you."

"Me too." said Arete. "I screwed up, I'll admit that. But, can we at least try over?"

"Welcome home." said Xander and Ryoma.

"Good to be home."


End file.
